Icelandic Viking þórshamar Pendant

Product Description

Icelandic Viking þórshamar Pendant

With Silky Braided Adjustable Cord

5cm x 3cm

This is the þórshamar – Thor’s Hammer, also known as the Wolf Cross or Wolf head hammer. The original was found in an Icelandic location known as Fossi (10. - 11. century A.D) it tells us that the Vikings from Iceland were still very tied to their homeland as no wolves inhabited Iceland. The original is exhibited in the National museum of Iceland, in Reykjavik. Around 1000 AD the King of Norway began pressuring the Icelanders to adopt Christianity, which they did without bloodshed at a session of their parliament, Alþingi, but retained the right to continue pagan practices in private. The wolf's cross is from this era, and it's not known whether it is a purely Pagan artefact or whether it's a pseudo-Christian cross. It bears more resemblance to a Christian cross than any other known examples of Thor’s Hammer from the Viking Age. The fact that the cross is inverted doesn't really carry much significance, as for many centuries, the inverted cross (cross of St Peter) was considered a Christian symbol, based on an ancient tradition that the apostle Peter was crucified upside down. Simple truth: it's not known whether the Icelandic Wolf Cross is Pagan, Christian or a bit of both. Personally, I believe it is for the wearer to decide!